To transport liquids or gases, for example water, hollow pipe or tubing may be used. A variety of techniques may be used to join fittings, valves, couplings, and additional sections of pipe or tubing (hereinafter collectively referred to as “members”). These techniques may include, for example, welding, threading, soldering, and crimping. While each of the techniques has various advantages, crimping allows for a fast and convenient way of joining members together.
With reference to FIGS. 40-43, a crimped assembly 50 is illustrated. When crimping polymeric tubing members 60 to fittings 70 such as unions or flow components such as valves, typically a deformable sleeve or ring 80 such as formed from copper, is slid onto the end of the polymeric member 60. As best shown in FIG. 42, the fitting or flow component 70 is inserted into the end face of the polymeric member 60. Further, the sleeve or ring 80 is positioned to overlie the inserted portion of the fitting or flow component 70. A crimping tool is then coaxially positioned over the sleeve or ring 80, the end portion of the polymeric member 60, and the inserted portion of the union or flow component 70. Then, a force is applied to the tool which radially compresses the assembly 50 together. After crimping, the assembly 50 should satisfy certain dimensional requirements.
A connection which is too large or too small in diameter may leak. And so it is important for the diameter of the crimped assembly 50 to be within a relatively narrow size range. The diameter of the crimped assembly 50 can be checked with gauges. As shown in FIG. 41, the assembly 50 should be large enough in diameter to not fit into a no-go gauge 178. Further, as shown in FIG. 43, the assembly 50 should be small enough in diameter to fit into a go gauge 176. As illustrated, since the assembly 50 did not fit into the no-go gauge 178 and fit into the go gauge 176, the assembly 50 would be considered within tolerance.
Accordingly, at is desirable for the connection or crimped assembly to be checked with a gauge. Many times, due to activity at the jobsite where crimping is occurring, the gauge becomes misplaced or lost. Alternatively, even if the location of the gauge is known, the gauge may not be conveniently located near the crimping location. As such, the user of the tool may be unable or unwilling to retrieve the gauge to confirm that the diameter of the crimped assembly is within specification. This failure to check the crimp can result in an improper connection being undetected, thereby potentially resulting in a subsequent leak at the crimped assembly. Accordingly, a need exists for a tool and/or strategy that addresses these problems.